Question Number: 34020

Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct 10/11/2020

RE: Pro Adult

Riz khan of Abbottabad, Abbottabad Pakistan asks...

Sir, I have three questions .

1. If a goalkeeper hold the ball and the attacker comes to him and the goalkeeper just committed a foul to just push the opponent from his knee and opponent fall down? which decision referee will made? Only caution the goal keeper and continue play or he will caution the goal keeper and award a penalty kick. remember ball is in the hand of goalkeeper and properly grip.

2. Sir, during penalty shootout if a player does the illegal feinting (complete the run up and stand at the penalty spot and then kick the ball) will he only caution and the penalty kick will be retaken or his penalty will consider as miss also?

3. Sir, the ball has passed the goal line while clearly last touched by the attacker but the assistant referee awarded the corner kick and on the corner kick the team has scored. Can this decision reversed if the defending team protest from the Match referee?

thanking you in advance ..

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Riz
Thank you for your questions
1. Just because the goalkeeper is holding the ball in his grasp does not exonerate him from committing a foul. So as described it is likely to be a caution for unsporting behaviour and the restart is a penalty kick.
I once had this in a game where the goalkeeper went out if his way to target an attacker by running at him while holding the ball and knocking him to the ground. I cautioned him and awarded a penalty kick.
2. IFAB wants to eliminate this tactic of illegal feinting at the ball by stopping and then kicking the ball after the goalkeeper has dived or committed to one side of the goal. The kicker is cautioned and the goal disallowed. If it happened during the game the restart is an IDFK at the penalty mark to the defending ream.
3. Once the corner kick is taken there is no possibility of going back to change the decision. The referee can decide to overrule the assistant by awarding a goal kick before the restart. If however he accepts the AR decision and the kick is taken the outcome has to be accepted.
In games where Video Assistant Referee technology is used this is not a decision that can be reviewed. Even if the TV video replay shows that the AR was *wrong* to signal a corner kick then it is not possible for that to be reviewed. Once the referee accepts that flag advice and the referee has not seen anything to change the decision then the decision stands. Perhaps where the officials are miked up and one of the four match officials sees a decision that is *wrong* he can use the headsets to advise. That though would be rare and unusual as the referee and the assistant are the closest to the incident so the other AR and 4th official would not be well placed to give any better opinion.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

HI Riz Kahn,
(1)while it is true a keeper cannot be challenged for ball possession if he has the ball in his grasp it provides no special exemption from HIS or HER conduct while holding it. As my colleague Ref McHugh talked about, I too have cautioned and awarded free kicks or penalty kicks against keepers who use the ball itself as a weapon to push/strike an opponent by jabing it out against the opposition body or throwing it at the player. I do pay close attention when opposition players and keepers are in close proximity especially after a save or hard challenge to win the ball, because accidental contact or the aftermath contact can creates massive resentment & put the player or keeper in retaliation mode.
(2) If the referee WAS to determine the run up and actions by the penalty kicker as illegal, the player is cautioned and the goal is disallowed. During the game an INDFK out from the PK spot is awarded during a penalty shootout it is just counts as a miss. Sigh it is a harsh punishment from what advantage was just there a second ago and a foolish move by the kicker to squander what should be 85% chance at a goal.
(3) If the Match referee was to override the AR he MUST do it before the restart of play otherwise the goal will be allowed. It could happen that an AR signals corner, followed immediately by a quickly taken corner by the attackers. If the corner kick is incorrect but quickly taken the referee should be blowing his whistle to stop play ASAP and point to the goal area. If the AR was to award the corner and the CR allowed the attackers to retrieve the ball then set up and a follow up goal occurs the CR can not legally rethink his position Nor can a VAR decision be offered as evidence it was wrong.
Cheers